Atlanta Braves add Bo Porter to coaching staff

UPDATE: The Braves have officially added Bo Porter to the coaching staff as the third base coach. As of this post, the hitting coach position remains open. In addition, Atlanta announced that manager Fredi Gonzalez will return for the 2015 season.

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The Atlanta Braves are set to undergo a major transition after the firing of general manager Frank Wren and the “resignation” of hitting coach Greg Walker, and in addition to the recent addition of Gordon Blakely as a special assistant to the GM, an interesting name has emerged as a candidate to join the coaching staff. Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports that former Houston Astros manager Bo Porter could be a target for the currently vacant position of hitting coach.

"This has been a busy week for interim general manager John Hart, who met with manager Fredi Gonzalez on Wednesday morning to discuss the coaching staff and a roster makeup. Hitting coach Greg Walker’s resignation stands as the only current change among the coaches. But there is certainly reason to believe at least a couple more changes will come that could open the door for Porter, who served as Gonzalez’s third base coach with the Marlins."

As noted by Bowman above, Porter’s ties to current manager Fredi Gonzalez are evident, as he was his third base coach while Gonzalez was the manager of the Marlins. In addition, Porter’s new-found availability (he was fired by the Astros after compiling a 110-190 managerial record) lends immediate credence to the buzz.

In my mind, Porter would appear to be a solid choice, but the bigger issue is the setting which provides Gonzalez with the opportunity to remain employed. At this stage, we are operating under the assumption that Fredi will continue to be the manager for the 2015 season, and that is simply the wrong choice.

Alas, it seems as if we have moved on to vacant staff positions instead of evaluating the virtually inept manager, and this is where we are with the Atlanta Braves.